Clothes drier attachment



CLOTHES DRIER ATTACHMENT Filed June 11, 1940 I Inuenior: v 911* 5. (mg

Patented Aug. 18, 1942 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE CLOTHES DRIER ATTACHMENT Fred s. Boltz, Mansfield, Mass.

Application June 11, 1940, Serial No. 339,916

(Cl. 211-s6) '7 Claims.

This invention relates to drying frames or racks, especially to clothes driers of the type having upright rails and connecting cross members, and has for its general object to provide an attachment for such devices for conveniently holding the clothes and other articles preparatory to spreading them upon the drier proper.

In hanging out laundry to dry, it is customary to carry the wet articles to the clothes line or drying rack in a tub or basket from which the individual articles are successively removed and attached to the drier. This either requires an elevated support for the basket or tub or else necessitates repeated stooping on the part of the laundress, which is very disagreeable and laborious. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an attachment for a holding drier which can be detachably secured to the drier at a convenient height, and in which the wet articles can be placed and transported to the drying position, either separately or together with the drier itself, and from which they can be readily transferred to drying position. Preferably the attachment is of such a character as to be capable of being folded into compact form with the drier itself, so as to be capable of being stored with the latter in a minimum space when not in use, and is also such as not to obstruct the drying space of the drier, but rather to increase the capacity of the latter.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, together with means whereby the same may be carried into effect, will best be understood from the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective viewof a clothes drier with the holding attachment associated therewith. i

Fig, 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the attachment removed from the drier.

In Fig. 1 is shown a clothes drier of familiar from comprising a plurality of frames I0 each including a pair of upright side rails I I and connecting cross members I2, the contiguous side rails of adjacent frames being hinged together as shown at I3. Such a drier can be folded into a compact flat form or may be extended into the self-supporting position shown. As herein shown, the drier is of the general type described in the patent to Cumming, No. 156,075, October 20, 1874, in which the frames III are of trapezoidal form resulting in a drier which, when extended into self-supporting position, assumes a frustopyramidal shape. The invention is especially adapted to driers of this type, although capable of use with driers comprising rectangular or other frames.

The attachment or clothes holder constituting the present invention comprises two frames I4 and I5 pivotally connected at their lower ends and each comprising a pair of side rails I6 and connecting cross members or rods IT. The hinge or pivotal connection between the frames may, conveniently, be formed by one of the cross members or rods I'Ia which extends through the adjacent side rails I6 of both frames. The side rails I6 of the frame I4 are formed with notches I8 adapted to engage over certain of the cross members I2a of one of the drier frames II], as shown in Fig. 2, and are cut away at their upper ends, as shown at I9, to engage under another of said cross members, indicated at I212 in Fig, 2, thereby -detachably supporting the frame I6 upon the drier frame I0. Secured to the upper ends of the side rails I6 of the frame I5 are connectors 20, preferably in the form of cords adapted to engage notches 2'I in the upper ends of the side rails I6 of the frame I I, thereby holding the frame I5 in upwardly diverging position with respect to the frame I I to form an open top receptacle. The cords ZII are formed at their ends with knots or enlargments 22 of sufiicient size to retain said ends in the notches 2| while permitting their ready detachment therefrom. The construction described permits the holder to be readily attached to and detached from the drier, and when detached to be folded and stored separately, or, by releasing the cords 20 from the notches 2|, the frame I5 may be folded downwardly against the adjacent drier frame as shown in broken lines in Figs. 1 and 2, thereby permitting the attachment to be folded up and stored with the drier proper and eliminating the necessity of extra storage space. The holder can be attached to any side of the drier and at any convenient height permitted by the relative widths of the drier and attachment frames. Cross members ll of the attachment provide extra hanging space for small articles.

Conveniently, the holder, attached to the drier with its frames held in operative position, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, may be filled with clothes in the laundry and may, with the drier, be carried to a convenient point of erection of the latter, whereupon the clothes and other articles may be readily removed from the holder without stooping and. arranged upon the drier.

I claim:

1. A clothes holding attachment for clothes driers having uprights and connecting cross members, said attachment comprising two frames pivotally connected at their lower ends and each including side rails and connecting cross members, the side rails of one of said frames having notches to engage over certain ofthe cross members of the drier and a cut-away upper end to engage under another of said cross members, and connectors carried by one of said frames at its upper end and detachably engageable with the upper end of the other frame.

2. The combination with a clothes drier having spaced uprights and horizontal cross members therebetween, of a clothes holder having two sides and means for detachably attaching it to the drier such that one side thereof lies against the drier, said one side of the holder consisting of opposite side rails and horizontal cross members therebetween and the latter being so irregularly spaced that they are augmented by an intervening cross member of the drier and said augmented and augmenting cross members are substantially equally spaced when the holder is attached to the drier,

3. The combination with a clothes drier having spaced uprights and horizontal cross members therebetween, of a clothes receptacle having two sides and means for detachably attaching it to the drier such that one side thereof lies against an intervening cross member of the drier, and said one side of the receptacle consisting of spaced side rails and horizontal cross members therebetween, the latter lying in a common plane and being so irregularly spaced that they are augmented by said intervening cross member and said augmented and augmenting cross members are substantially equally spaced when the receptable is attached to the drier, and said side rails having notches receiving said intervening cross member so that the same lies in said common plane.

4. The combination with a clothes drier having spaced uprights and horizontal cross members therebetween, of a clothes receptacle having two sides of which one side consists of side rails and connecting cross members therebetween, the latter lying in a common plane and the former having notches and cut-away upper ends to engage over a certain intervening cross member and under another cross member, respectively, of the drier to. detachably attach the receptacle to the latter, and the cross members of the receptacle being so irregularly spaced that they are augmented by said intervening cross member and said augmented and augmenting cross members are substantially equally spaced when the receptacle is attached to the drier, and said notches and cut-away ends being of a depth to bring the cross members of the drier engaged thereby into said common plane.

5. The combination with a clothes drier having spaced uprights and horizontal cross mem-- bers therebetween, of a clothes receptacle having two sides of which one side consists of side rails and connecting cross members therebetween, the latter lying in a common plane and the former having notches and cut-away upper ends to engage over a certain intervening cross member and under another cross member, respectively, of the drier to detachably attach the receptacle to the latter, and the cross members of the receptacle being so irregularly spaced that they are augmented by said intervening and said other cross member and said augmented and augmenting cross members are substantially equally spaced when the receptacle is attached to the drier, and said notches and cut-away upper ends being of such dimensions as to bring said augmenting cross members into said common plane.

6. The combination with a clothes drier having spaced uprights and relatively widely spaced, horizontal cross members therebetween, of an auxiliary drying rack comprising opposite side rails and'connecting cross bars and means for detachably securing the rack to the drier so that said cross bars are parallel to said cross members, said cross bars being so irregularly and narrowly spaced apart that they are augmented by an intervening cross member of the drier and said cross bars and intervening cross member are substantially equally spaced apart.

7. The combination with a clothes drier having spaced uprights and relatively widely spaced, horizontal cross members therebetween, of an auxiliary drying rack comprising opposite side rails and connecting cross bars in a, common plane and means for detachably securing the rack to the drier so that said cross bars are parallel to said cross members, said cross bars being so irregularly and narrowly spaced apart that they are augmented by an intervening cross member of the drier and said cross bars and intervening cross member are substantially eqally spaced apart, and said side rails having notches receiving said intervening cross member so that the same lies in said common plane.

FRED S. BOLTZ.

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